LAW

LAW
GIRARD -- Porter Wright Morris & amp; Arthur LLP, a law firm with offices in Cleveland and five other cities, has hired Michael J. Montgomery of Girard as an associate in its litigation department. A 1992 Girard High School graduate, Montgomery earned a bachelor's degree in liberal arts and a law degree from Ohio State University. Before joining Porter Wright he served as a law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge James S. Gwin and to Judge Ronald Lee Gilman of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
HEALTH CARE
LIBERTY -- MVI HomeCare is announcing a promotion and three new employees. Liz Szmaj, formerly a case manager and field nurse, has been named a regional nurse manager. A Cardinal Mooney High School graduate, she has an associate degree in applied science and a bachelor's degree in nursing, both from Youngstown State University. She lives in Austintown and had worked for Robinson Memorial Hospital in Ravenna before joining MVI two and a half years ago.
Michelle Watson, a registered nurse, has joined the company's MVI HospiceCare as hospice manager. A Howland resident, she has a bachelor's degree in nursing from Troy State University in Alabama and worked for a hospice in Alabama for five years before moving to the Mahoning Valley. She had been working for staffing agencies locally.
Amy R. Dammier is the new volunteer program coordinator, coming to MVI from the Marriott Corp. of Hotels, where she was a catering and sales manager. A Youngstown resident and Ursuline High School graduate, she has an associate degree in hotel business and administration at the Boyd School of Travel and Tourism in Pittsburgh.
Cathy Schiele, a Boardman resident, has been promoted from staff nurse to regional nurse manager. A Canfield High School graduate, she earned bachelor's degree in nursing from Bowling Green State University and the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo.
TRAINING
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Mahoning and Columbiana Training Association is announcing two promotions and one new appointment. Deborah Haire, formerly a summer employee, has been promoted to one-stop facilitator for the One-Stop Employment and Training Center. Haire graduated from the University of Toledo with a degree in Public Health.
LaTonya Hawkins has been promoted to youth services coordinator. She has a bachelor's degree in human ecology from Ohio State University and she has worked with MCTA as a career consultant.
Katherine Fischer of Edinburg, Pa., has joined the Youngstown office as a career consultant. She had been a career coordinator at the Beatitude House/Potter's Wheel. Fischer is certified as a vocational consumer education teacher and has a bachelor's degree in home economics education from State University of New York.
INDUSTRY
NORTH BENTON -- David O'Brock, a 1988 graduate of West Branch High School, has been named chief executive of AS Viru Liimid Co. in Estonia, a producer of formaldehyde and epoxy resins. The company is part of that country's largest chemical production group. O'Brock is a 1994 graduate of Ohio State University and had been marketing director of As Viru. He has been living in Estonia since 1998.
INSURANCE
AUSTINTOWN -- Ronald Ferraro, owner and principal agent of Ferraro Insurance Group on Mahoning Avenue, was recently appointed an Erie Insurance representative. He has 22 years' experience in the insurance industry and earned a bachelor's degree from Youngstown State University, along with a Certified Insurance Counselor designation.